The wedding venue of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 61, who has drawn attention for his 'once-in-a-lifetime wedding,' was changed due to local opposition.
Reuters reported on the 24th (local time) that Bezos moved his planned wedding celebration, originally scheduled for 26th to 28th in the center of Venice, to an outer area. Security concerns and fierce protests by civic groups are said to have been decisive factors in the decision.
Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez had originally planned to hold a grand party at the medieval building 'Scuola Grande della Misericordia' in the Cannaregio district of Venice. However, as local civic groups threatened to stage protests to block guest entry, they ultimately decided to relocate the event to the 'Arsenale exhibition hall' in the Castello district on the eastern edge of Venice.
The new venue is surrounded by canals on all sides and has the advantage of being secure because it can raise its bridges to restrict external access.
The civic group 'No Space for Bezos' in Venice welcomed the news of the venue change. In recent days, posters bearing the group's name have been posted throughout the city, spreading opposition.
Venice has been struggling with issues such as noise, rising housing prices, and invasion of privacy due to a surge in tourists. As tourists flock to the city, the number of residents leaving is increasing, leading to criticism that it is becoming a 'tourist set piece' rather than a 'liveable city.'
Amid this, billionaire Bezos's plan to hold a large-scale party in the city has led civil society to strongly oppose, saying it is 'behavior that treats the whole city as a playground.'
It is reported that about 200 global celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Mick Jagger, KT Perry, Eva Longoria, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, have been invited to this wedding.
Bezos became engaged to Sanchez, a former television journalist, after a public romance following his divorce from his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos in 2019.